SOURCE: Romney, Jonathan. “Little Monsters.” New Statesman and Society 6, no. 4143 (16 July 1993): 34-5.

In the following review, Romney identifies the major thematic concerns of Jurassic Park.

One of the most memorable images in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park comes when a Tyrannosaurus Rex rears up in triumph and a banner flutters down, reading “When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth”. It's a nice self-congratulatory touch, reminding us how far saurian cinema has come in sophistication since the 1969 film of that name. But it also points out that now is the time when the big scaly ones reign supreme. Much of Jurassic Park is charged with messages—not so subliminal either—directly concerning the film's own status as an unvanquishable monster.

It was a foregone conclusion that the huge marketing industry attached to the film would make Jurassic Park and its subject matter a worldwide preoccupation. So it's tempting to suggest that Jurassic...